06/15/98 INDIA NEEDS BUTTER, NOT GUNS (int'l edition)

INDIA NEEDS BUTTER, NOT GUNS (int'l edition)

Successful nuclear tests are a ''feather in the cap'' of India's defense scientists (''And now for the fallout,'' Asian Business, May 25). But its political leaders, including the Prime Minister, should have displayed more maturity in handling this issue, especially with Pakistan and China. If India was sincere that the testing was for scientific purposes, the political leaders should also have used the same language. Instead, their collective cacophony and chest-thumping displayed an utter lack of political maturity.
The ruling party must realize that testing nuclear bombs will not solve problems of employment and poverty. In the couple of months that the party has been in power, there has been no cohesive action to kick-start the economy. Some multinationals, such as L.M. Ericsson, have started to roll back their investment plans, and the government-owned Air India reported record losses. The sanctions imposed only add to the woes of an ever-falling rupee. While nuclear bombs may have been the best thing to have happened to nuclear scientists, it may have been the worst thing to have happened for the 300 million who live in poverty.

V. Shankar
Singapore